The New Age Toy Story

We don’t really grow up… or stop playing with toys. We just graduate to more sophisticated ones. Here are 10 rising stars—new-age, free-thinking artists from different walks of life, who are experimenting with jewellery design to break traditional techniques and notions of bijoux, presenting radically stunning baubles you will love to play with, and possess...

1. Wanderlust by Jahanvi Kamani

When your grandfather (Nanubhai Jhaveri) has trained apprentices such as Ambaji Shinde, who go on to work with Harry Winston and Van Cleef & Arpels, you’re born with the right genes. “My grandfather died when my mom was quite young, but left behind this magnificent archive of sketches,” says Jahanvi. Taking his legacy forward, the 26-year-old created a line for the woman who wants potent jewellery while hopping continents, hence the epithet Wanderlust. Trained at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), London, she uses brass and silver with gold plating. Mother-of-pearl and reconstituted corals metamorphose into chic earrings, while lucid cuffs are sheathed with topaz and citrines.

L’Officiel India DigitalRead L’Officiel India in the digital libraryEvery issue and every cover story, on TCG Media.Read now

2. Dhora by Aavriti Jain and Siddharth Daspan

Just like air or water crystallises sand particles and metamorphosises them into dunes, called Dhora in Rajasthani, Aavriti and Siddharth let the elements they use, have their say in the making of their jewellery. Their first line was titled ‘The Mistake’, rather aptly. “Craftsmen in Jaipur thought we are eccentric as we liked all things uncut, unfinished; we dipped small tools used to cut wires into gold, put stones on it and moulded it into a pendant,” says Aavriti. They met in Milan’s Istituto Marangoni, where they studied fashion business, and came up with a schismatic line, serving an intriguing cocktail of raw leather and semi-precious stones. They manoeuvered them into geometric, rudimentary shapes, with brass and silver. “Jewellery is no longer a locker investment, it’s much like life—decrepit and irregular,” says Aavriti. We like!

3. Maithali Kabre

You wouldn’t expect someone who studied the economics of creating mega-structures at JJ College of Architecture to be playing with Swarovski and brass. But Maithali Kabre followed her bliss. After training at NID Ahmedabad, she launched Swa, which later became a label by her own name. Craftsmanship, according to her, is the distinguishing point of her jewellery. “We use the same techniques that we employ in fine jewellery-making, even though we work with industrial materials. As a result, the final product is much superior, and the finish, exquisite,” says Maithali. Cavorting with spring leaves, florals and a bit of bling, the pieces are for those who don’t like to blend in.

4. Akaliko by Tehzeeb Merchant

Akaliko is timeless, much like the broken vintage clocks and buttons that the London College of Fashion graduate subsumes in her line. With the purpose of recycling seemingly useless objects, she crafts necklaces and bracelets. “Women who want precious jewellery and can’t think beyond diamonds are not my customers,” says the Mumbai-based interior designer. Inspired by Art Deco, she works with coloured crystals, Swarovski, cubic Zirconia, tourmaline and quartz. “I usually plate metal pieces in rose gold, gold or silver. I feel technology has seeped into every sphere and jewellery must reflect that, too. I admire architect Le Corbusier’s eclectic style and his audacious geometric lines,” she concludes.

5. Aditi Amin

An investment banker in North Carolina, USA, Aditi was living the corporate dream before returning to Ahmedabad on the insistence of her parents. “Working systems in India are extremely challenging,” she says. “I was always interested in jewellery, so I decided to take the plunge. But my offerings had to be lightweight and fun. That’s just what I did in the summer of 2013.” Crafting industrial copper and brass into 24-carat gold plated non-cohesive pieces, Aditi created tie-style necklaces that became a rage, much like her animal-inspired owls and scorpions. Her distinct creations also feature beads, glass, acrylic, and semi-precious stones.

6. Rossoyuki by Priyanshi Mehta

Coming from a family of diamond jewellers, Priyanshi took the uncharted course. After training at Savannah College, Georgia, USA, she went on to study design at Alchimia College in Florence, Italy and accessory design and manufacturing for technicalities at Ars Sutoria College in Milan. “At Florence we had to create pieces out of everyday objects we’d generally overlook. That’s where the idea of Rossoyuki was born (Rosso for red in Italian and Yuki for snowflakes in Japanese),” she smiles. The word takes inspiration from the Japanese micro beads she crafts into necklaces and bracelets with such alacrity that sometimes you can’t see the fine Gutermann thread she weaves them together with. She offers two lines: one with beads strung together with an intermingling of semi-precious stones or jaali work, the other with beading on suede.

7. Bangdar Sarali by Ikroop Dhillon and Pooja Roy Yadav

Army kids Ikroop and Pooja are as different and individualistic as the shards of glass, a key element used in their jewellery. Pooja, a communications specialist, and Ikroop, who worked at CNBC before training with glass artist Atul Bakshi, launched Bangdar Sarali (a jumble of Bangalan and Sardarni). Their two lines amalgamate fused glass with sterling silver and fused glass with mixed metals (copper and brass), with a 22-carat gold plating. No two pieces are alike, since the glass, once in the kiln at 1,200 degree Celsius, has a mind of its own. “If a client asks us to repeat a piece, we politely refuse,” smiles Ikroop.

8. Stone Paper Scissor by Rashi Verma

While studying at Nottingham Trent University, UK, Rashi had to write a thesis on sustainable fashion. She stumbled upon the concept of paper jewellery, and got hooked to the idea of environment friendly, recycled jewellery. “Magazines are a fruit of labour, but the next month they are rendered redundant. Why not make them timeless, I thought,” she says. Her handmade jewellery is waterproof, sturdy and embellished with rhinestones and aluminum chains. Part of the Ethical Fashion Forum, UK, Rashi says, “Most people consider recycled jewellery cheap, boring and non-commercial, but internationally, gold is fading away, making way for unorthodox ideas. Handmade has emerged as the new luxe.” We totally agree!

9. NIAv by Nikita Gupta and Avantika Aggarwal

While studying luxury product design at NIFT, New Delhi, Nikita and Avantika learnt the value of agreeing to disagree. Their pieces feature humble materials like shells, neon beads, brass and iron. “Our jewellery is not for the faint-hearted, it is valiant and has the power to spice up a simple white tee and blue jeans,” says Nikita. The duo creates neckpieces, rings, earrings and haathphools, which they believe can be worn even with gowns. “We worked with rubies earlier but dropped the stones from our line later, as it was in direct confrontation with the idea of being bohemian, which is our mainstay,” she adds.

10. Aa-Tee by Ankita Tewari

Ankita imbibed Indian creative sensibilities while travelling with her artistic father during her childhood trips to Rajasthan. After NIFT Delhi and then NIFT Hyderabad, she decided to craft accessories that redefine the set tenets of tradition. Her brass and copper, gold-plated wonders come encrusted with Swarovski, coloured crystals, amethysts and turquoise. “Indian craftsmanship is unparalleled. The intricacy in the filigree work that I incorporate, or the laser cutting on acrylic or vinyl sheets makes each piece a work of art,” she says. For the discerning, there are nifty ear cuffs, hand harnesses, headgear and suspender belts that can rev up your denims.

From the April 2014 issue of L’Officiel India.